How to finally solve your conditioning problem

[Henry Swanson]

Just out of curiosity to the TS. But what prompted you to start this thread now? I know you're not new to the game and such, but why speak up now after being a member here for a year.

 

[Orion]

Good post TS. Lots of good information in your posts.

I seem to fall into the concentric hypertrophy category. I've always done heavy lifting in the maximal strength-hypertrophy range depending on my goals at the time. My weakness has always been conditioning. There has been times where I've gotten my conditioning up pretty good when focusing on it (ie: Ross style program) but still lacked overall and felt I could improve.

For example, I've had the ability to wrestle for 10 minutes straight and feel pretty good afterwards, but jogging a mile is a terrible struggle.

I've always been the type that needs precise parameters for training in lifting to progress and I've been thinking about trying the same approach to conditioning, but I just didn't know where to start.

Your posts definitely help and I look forward to more and would be willing to talk with you or anyone else on here for that matter that has extensive knowledge on the science behind conditioning.

Also, the "general" approach in the FAQ that Sonny and others have compiled and shared here are all great methods and shouldn't be overlooked by beginners or advanced athletes/trainees. All knowledge is useful.

 

[rEdShawks]

Good post TS. Lots of good information in your posts.

I seem to fall into the concentric hypertrophy category. I've always done heavy lifting in the maximal strength-hypertrophy range depending on my goals at the time. My weakness has always been conditioning. There has been times where I've gotten my conditioning up pretty good when focusing on it (ie: Ross style program) but still lacked overall and felt I could improve.
l.

dude ure sig is going to be thier for eternity

 

[John L Sullivan]

"I am a Strength & Conditioning Coach and have worked with many high level fighters over the last 5 years (probably more than just about every other strength coach out there)"
Translation: "I'm pretty much a big deal.

My library has several leather-bound volumes and smells of mahogany.

 

[Michael Wanaka]

The TS is the owner of End Zone Athletics, which is the premier sport specific athletic training facility in the Northwest. He has trained Mach Sakurai, Chris Leben, Rich Franklin, Pete Spratt, Tyrone Glover, Bob Sapp, KJ Noons, Jorge Gurgel, and others. He also works with professional football players, UW athletes, snowboarders, and other athletes.

He definitely knows what he's talking about.

 

[JRT6]

The TS is the owner of End Zone Athletics, which is the premier sport specific athletic training facility in the Northwest. He has trained Mach Sakurai, Chris Leben, Rich Franklin, Pete Spratt, Tyrone Glover, Bob Sapp, KJ Noons, Jorge Gurgel, and others. He also works with professional football players, UW athletes, snowboarders, and other athletes.

He definitely knows what he's talking about.

ok, then why we are first hearing this on page 5 after all the this time got wasted?

 

[Henry Swanson]

The TS is the owner of End Zone Athletics, which is the premier sport specific athletic training facility in the Northwest. He has trained Mach Sakurai, Chris Leben, Rich Franklin, Pete Spratt, Tyrone Glover, Bob Sapp, KJ Noons, Jorge Gurgel, and others. He also works with professional football players, UW athletes, snowboarders, and other athletes.

He definitely knows what he's talking about.

Personally I don't question his credentials or his knowledge and for the most part I don't think others who posted here have either.

IIRC, I think he also trained the Seahawks.

 

[EZA]

I'm not trying to discredit anyone's work on this board or the conditioning programs they've put together and I'm sure some of them are great, but the point I was trying to make is that the question should be whether or not they are great for you.

This is a discussion thread about conditioning and the title was about "how to solve your conditioning problem" so I assumed people who would be interested in reading the post would be fighters who have had problems with their conditioning. If your current conditioning program is getting the job done for you and you've got it all figured out, then don't read the post. Personally, I've seen a lot of fighters whose conditioning is not what it could be despite the fact that they work hard on their conditioning, this is who my post was targeted to.

Also, keep in mind that the concentric vs. eccentric section is just an example of ONE part of conditioning and there are many others. Even if your cardiac output is great your muscular system can be poorly developed and be too glycolytic or too oxidative. I was just trying to give an example of why it's important to have a more individualized approach to conditioning if you are trying to really improve it.

As far as more tests I use, that would take more time than I have to write out, but yes start with a heart rate monitor and use it in every conditioning session you do. How quickly your heart rate goes up and how quickly it comes down is one of the real keys to conditioning. All your intervals and lsd should be designed around your own heart rates not around pre set work:rest intervals. If you're well conditioned you should be able to consistently get your heart rate back down to the 120-130s or lower in between high intensity 5 minute rounds. This is one of the markers I use with all my fighters.

Also, if you're fighting in 3 minute rounds your conditioning should be different than those fighting in 5 minute rounds because the primary energy systems are different. You need to look at the round duration and total fight duration and then your own ****bolic profile if you want to walk into the fight everytime knowing there is no way the other guy can match your pace and intensity.

For the guy who is fighting in 4 weeks, you need to be focusing on other aspects of conditioning when you're 4 weeks out so I would not suggest spending the time necessary to improve cardiac output at this stage in your fight prep.

As for why I finally posted something, I've been busy training fighters and other athletes for the last few years and developing my methods and haven't had the time to spend getting info out athletes I wasn't working directly with. In the last year or so I've seen a lot more programs being sold and marketed to fighters that are very poorly designed and not based on any real science.

I'm busy training a couple fighters now for UFC and Dream in July but after their fights I will start getting more info out on the methods I'm talking about. I will show everyone exactly what tests they need to do to determine what kind of training methods are the best for them, and which ones will do more harm than good. This is one of the real keys to making dramatic improvements and working your way to the top.

 

[JRT6]

It's cool, if you just told us who you were in the first place your reception would have been a lot better. I'm really looking foward to what you have to contribute

 

[rEdShawks]

It's cool, if you just told us who you were in the first place your reception would have been a lot better. I'm really looking foward to what you have to contribute

yeah cnat wait for more posts from u here, just didnt know if u were a wannabe poser

 

[Michael Wanaka]

yeah cnat wait for more posts from u here, just didnt know if u were a wannabe poser

Joel's the man, don't forget it!

 

[EZA]

I didn't realize I'd have to list my resume to be taken seriously, but now you have it. I also didn't start posting to tell everyone what they are doing wrong, but there are a lot of misconceptions and misinformation when it comes to strength & conditioning for MMA so I started posting because I wanted to share information about how to do it right.

Over the next few weeks I'll try to post some info about Mach's conditioning program to get ready to fight Diaz to give you an example of how it can be done (and no I had nothing to do with his conditioning or training for his last few fights)

If anyone has specific questions about training I'd be happy to answer.

 

[erskine777]

eza, i'm just curious but what kind of training exercises do you have your professional fighters do? Anything really original?

 

[vince89]

Its pretty sad that until he posted his credentials everyone was telling this guy to fuck off, but now he is being listened to and respected.

I like the idea of using a heart rate monitor rather than focusing on reps/time for conditioning, sorry if its a very basic question but what kind of conditioning training is best for getting that heart rate down in the 1 minute break in between rounds?

 

[erskine777]

Its pretty sad that until he posted his credentials everyone was telling this guy to fuck off, but now he is being listened to and respected.

If that post is directed towards me, then I must tell you to reevaluate your reading comprehension skills, as well as your paraphrasing ability. If not, then I agree that some of the posts did come off as quite caustic.

 

[EZA]

I agree, people on here need to chill out before they jump to the conclusion that someone is a "wannabe poser" or full of shit. And if you think my post sucked or was arrogant or whatever, then why not just ignore it and read something else rather than taking the time to make a negative comment?

Anyway...

Erskine777

As far as exercises, yes I have several original exercises that I use with professional fighters, but one of the biggest misconceptions of training athletes is that the exercise or exercises you use is the most important thing. The reality of training is that you have to consider how the exercise is being used and what it is actually accomplishing above all else when designing a program.

For example, I can take a barbell squat and use it to increase size of the ST and FOG fibers and mitochondria density and thus increase local muscular endurance; I can use it to improve neural drive and increase maximum strength and rate of force development; or I can use it to develop alactic power and capacity.

The difference is in the way I manipulate the variables of time under tension, exercise tempo, rest intervals, total volume, and intensity. These are the things that are far more important than the exercises you decide to use. The most effective program I use to improve vertical jump and explosive leg strength only uses four different exercises.

Athletic development is much different than bodybuilding, you don't need to use twenty different primary exercises, you aren't trying to look like a bodybuilder you are trying to perform like an athlete. So yes I use quite a few original exercises and exercise selection is important, but the real key to training is how to use the exercises to accomplish your specific training goal.

Far too many coaches and athletes think it is some specific exercise or combination of exercises that is the secret to training but that is not the case. Anyone who tells you they have some secret exercise or exercises is trying to sell you something.

The real key is how you use an exercise to achieve specific adaptations that will improve your performance. If you can understand and learn how to apply this concept your programs will be dramatically more effective and you'll save yourself a lot of wasted effort.

Vince89

There are a lot of factors that determine how quickly your heart rate drops but largely it comes down to parasympathetic tone (if you don't know what this is do some research because it's important to understand) how much oxidative vs. glycolytic muscle tissue you have, your cardiac output, and how your hormonal system is developed. All of these things are functions of your entire training training program, nutrition program, how much sleep you get, mental stress levels, genetics, etc. so there is a lot to take into consideration.

Generally spreaking, the easiest and best strategy to start with is to use a heart rate monitor to dictate rest intervals rather than specific pre set times. Let your heart rate come down to the 120-135 range between sets of intervals. There is a reason sometimes to use incomplete rest intervals, mainly to build alactic or lactic capacity, but for the most part when you're working primarily on cardiac development you want to let the heart rate come back down and dicatate your rest intervals.

Pay attention to how high your heart rate gets and how quickly it comes back down. The lower it stays and the quicker it comes down the better your conditioning will be. Your power output at the anaerobic threshold is an incredibly important marker for your power endurance capabilities.

This principle is important for several reasons which are too complicated to get into at the moment. It's also why generic conditioning programs with pre set work:rest ratios don't lead to the best results and why doing hundreds of reps of bodyweight or low resistance exercises like I see a lot of programs advocating doesn't really accomplish much after a certain point except for boredom.

 

[JRT6]

No regular poster here has anything to apologize for.

 

[Henry Swanson]

Its pretty sad that until he posted his credentials everyone was telling this guy to fuck off, but now he is being listened to and respected.

No one was telling him to fuck off. It's natural for people to be skeptics when a white belt comes out of nowhere with a thread like this.

 

[Ian Coe]

To be fair from tghe first post I thought this was leading up to a sales pitch, but I thought I would hang back and see what evolved.

Nice to have you aboard.

I look forward to hearing your input on conditoning matters



Elder statesman out

 

[Henry Swanson]

To be fair from tghe first post I thought this was leading up to a sales pitch, but I thought I would hang back and see what evolved.

Exactly, that's what most of us were expecting.

I've seen many a thread like this before, starts out real well and then turns into a sales pitch. We even had a guy here at one time who told everyone "you're doing it all wrong, I can tell you what to do instead, but I'm not going to because I get paid for that kind of information in real life." That was basically the tone of all of his posts.